Improvement in braiding-machines



UNrTED v STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OTIS M. INMAN, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN Bambina-MACHINES,

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N0. 52,573, dated February 13, 1866.

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OTIs M. INMAN, of Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented an Improved Braiding-Machine 5 and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in whichj Figure l is a top view of the table and one of the bobbin-carriers. Fig. 2 is an elevation of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an end view of the ma{ chine. Fig. 4 is a side view of the improved. bobbin-carrier. Fig. 5, Sheet 2, is a top view of the plate which isbeneath the table, show-f ing the arrangement of the switches for guid-Q ing the carriers. Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section through the machine, taken at the pointv indicated by red line .er x, Fig. l. Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the bobbin-carrier showing the manner of delivering the thread from the bobbin.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts inthe several figures.

. In braiding machinery which is constructed with a number of racers or bobbin-carriers traversing serpentine slots, it is very important to obtain a steady movement ofthe carriers and to'prevent them from wearing loose and wobbling, an objection which is very serious v when it is desired to make wide braid and to employ for this purpose many carriers.

One of the objects of my invention is to adapt the bobbin-carrier to receive the edges ofthe slotted table, and of the bladed bobbindrivers, andalso the teeth on said drivers, so

that the carrier'will be firmly supported and held by said parts whileit isytraversing the serpentine slot in said table, as will be hereinafter described. c

Another object of my invention is to provide for switching the bobbin-carrier from one circular slot to another by means of a guidey upon the carrier and frogs or switch-bars upon the frame of the machine, so that there will be no jarring or wobbling movement given to this carrier at such points, as will be hereinafter described.

Another object of my invention is to effect the delivery of the thread from the bobbin at suitable times by means of a gravitating weight applied tothe carrier so as to operate upon the end of a lever which engages with the bobbinat its lower end, as will be hereinafter described.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand my invention, I will describe its construction and operation. l

In the accompanying drawings Ihave merely represented those portions ot' a braiding-machine which have a bearing upon my invention, for the'purpose of illustrating its operation. Such parts as I have not represented may be constructed and applied inany of the well-known ways.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents the table ofthe machine, which has three circular openin gs through it that communicate with each other and receive within them three circular bobbin-drivers`,'B BB. The upper surfaces as well as the lower surfaces are tlush with the corresponding surfacesof the table, as shown'in Fig. 6.` rIhese three drivers are of less diameter'than the opening in the table in which theyare arranged, and hence a serpentine slot, a, is formed for receiving and` directing the movement of the bobbin-oarrier's. This slot a is shown in Fig. l, wherein it will Abe seen that it is only interrupted by the teeth c on the drivers B B B', which teeth are in- Ltended for moving the bobbin-carriers, as will be hereinafter described.

Beneath the table A is a horizontal plate, C, which is arranged over another horizontal plate, G', all three of the plates A, C, and C being secured together, so as to leave spaces between them, by means of studs b b at their corners. The plate G has a number of elevations, c c c c, formed upon its upper surface directly beneath thc points of intersection of the passage a in the table A. The object of these elevations is to form switches for guiding the bobbinfcarriers'and directing them from one of the spurred drivers to another in their circumition. For this purpose a vane or tapering iin projects from the lower end of the bobbin-carrier D, which operates as a kind of rudder in passing between the elevations c c, and causes the carrier to be moved from one of the drivers to another without any binding or jarring motion.

Between the two plates O C are the carriergears E E E', which are secured to vertical shafts (Z l d', carrying upon their upper ends the tooth ed carriers B B B. Th ese shafts d d d have their bearin gs .in the two plates'CfC., and their respective wheels E E E are secured to them by means of plates e e e `for a purpose which will be hereinafter explained.

The bobbin-carrier l) consists of an enlarged.l

- cylindrical enlargement, i, on `its lower end, the teeth of which are caught bya nose,j,which is formed on the lower end of azcurved lever, k. This lever is fitted intoa vertical slot'in the back of the standard g of `the carrier, and it is pivoted thereto at Z, so that'when its npper curved end is pressed inward lit willrelease the bobbinG and allow the thread to unwind :from it,-whicl1 thread passes from :the bobbin through a perforation nearrthe fulcrnm of saidlever,beneath asliding weight, J, and thence through an eye, m, atthe upper-end of the standard g, as clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 7.

The vsliding `weight J, which embracesthe standard g and moves `freelyup and down, is intended for keeping a propertension llpon the threadv during the operation of braiding, and also for el'ectingthe delivery ofthethread from the bobbin by pressing againstthe upper end of the lever 7c and releasing thebobbin from the nose or catch j of this lever. As

the thread is `worked up into `braid the weightV J `slowly rises until itsupperiend `presses' inward the upper end ot' the lever lf, wihenfthis lever will instantly release 4the bobbin and allow it to turn-freely as the weightJ descends and unwinds a certain quantity of fthread. When this weight releases `the lever 7c a spring, n, will instantly cause it tocatch and hold the bobbin. In this way the weight effectsfthe delivery of the thread from the=bob binwithout perceptibly aecting the'tension on the thread. By taking hold ofthebobbin at its lower end it will run much smoother and with less liability of binding thanf it was taken hold of at its upper end, .as hitherto and by employing a long lever, Zo, 'as shown in the drawings, less `power `will be required `to release the bobbin. Consequently the braid which is produced by my machine will have an even selvage and `willbe verystraight .and smooth.

When the .carrier is applied tothe table A the narrow "strips hlhiare received in the slot a, so that the enlargements f g2 project beyond the edges of the slot a and form supports for the carrier above as well as below the table,

,asshown in Fig. 6. The` space between the verticalstrips h h receives one 'of 'the teeth a ot' the carrier-wheels, and in this manner the -bohbin-ca'rrier Yis madetotraverse its serpentine slot a, passing from the tooth on one wheel to that of another.

The arrangement of the teeth on the wheels B B B and the speed of these wheels are so regulated that the teeth move opposite each other at the points of intersection of the passag'ge a, at which points :the rudder g3 on the f carrier -is `.guided from the tooth `otone wheellto thatof another, Aand in this way the carrier is guided fromone circular passage to another and makes a revolution around v.the

axis; ofcach ioneof the carrier-wheels.

Another part of ymy `invention consists in constructing those parts of: afbraidingfmachine which, when made of metal, will Iproduce a `verydisagreeable noise,so.that there will be neither noise nor jar. ThisfI effect by making the table A, carrier-gears BBB', carrier '1). and spur-wheels E E E` of a very hard wood, as indicated in the drawings. The `plates O C and Ithedriving-'shafts should betmadeof meta-l. Such a machine will `conSider-ably soften and reduce the sharp rattlingsound Aproduced by the machines-formed altogether of metal, and soobjectionable and injurious in .operatioinand 'I have found that the carriers are less liable to wabble and 'wear'their race, as there will be very little or fno-vib1a tion of thetable.

Havingthusdescribed my invention, what I. elaimfask new, fanddesireto .secure by Letters Patent, is.-

1..Guidin'g and directing the bobbinl-c'ar- `riersfrom one-circular passage to another by 

